Revision as of 19:23, 18 March 2013

Don't ask, don't tell (Pub.L. 103-160 (10 U.S.C. § 654)) is the common name given to the law proposed by President Bill Clinton, passed by a Democratically controlled Congress and signed in 1993 to prohibit openly homosexual soldiers from serving in the military. It was repeatedly challenged, and repeatedly upheld, in the court system, but its repeal was a goal of the homosexual agenda for nearly two decades.

The premise of the policy is that a gay person will not be dismissed from active duty if he does not bring up his sexuality. At the same time, the military is legally enjoined from "asking" about a soldier's sexuality, or (in the oft forgotten third part of the phrase, "don't pursue") to investigate rumors of a soldier's sexuality. However, if a soldier does "come out," or if, without investigation, evidence is found of a soldier's sexuality, that soldier can be and generally is dismissed from active duty. This policy also changed the dismissal from "Dishonorably discharged", to "Honorably discharged" or simply "discharged" as the situation warrants, depending on the merits of the soldier's service.

On December 18, 2010, the lame duck Senate passed a law repealing it, and sent it to President Barack Obama for signature, who officially signed the bill on December 22, 2010. Of the six members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, three opposed the repeal while three supported repeal. [1] The repeal has been cited by some as a liberal effort to sabotage America's Military; Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association says it caused our military to become "feminized and neutered beyond repair" [2]